Peggy and Daniel
by Rebound SM
Summary: I've loved Enver Gjokaj since Dollhouse and figured his character deserved someone special in his life. Peggy doesn't seem the kind to never recover from a lost love, and it's been long enough that she might consider spending time with a nice good looking fellow. Usually I don't post until I'm done, so this is a work in progress. Rated T for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

I kind of had to hand-wave the security requirements of the SSR. Peggy says she works at the phone company and headquarters appears to be hidden. But the agents are arresting people and flashing their badges all over town so I'm not sure how "secret" their organization is. I'm pretending that they all pretend to work at the phone company although it makes no sense. Although why Peggy isn't also known from the newsreels she was in I have no idea. Oh well…

I started it after episode three - prompted by the red white and blue shield for an aluminum crutch line - and added some stuff from later episodes if I felt like it and ignored some other stuff if going back and fitting it in would be too difficult.

I like a tortured soul on my fanfic leading man as much as the next gal, but I wanted to try to do something different with Sousa. He seems well rounded on the show and not a total depressive so I wanted to show him as a more well-balanced guy dealing with his injury in the bast way he knows how. It gets him down sometimes but he's not tortured by it every minute of the day, he's just kind of resigned to it.

XXX

"No girl's gonna trade in a red, white, and blue shield for an aluminum crutch."

Those words had a tendency to clatter about in his brain whenever he thought too hard about Peggy Carter. The fact that they were spoken to him by an inconsiderate buffoon and with the intent to hurt him didn't make them sting any less. Perhaps the fact that the buffoon had died shortly after uttering them made them seem more profound.

Daniel Sousa knew he had been a good looking guy. He'd had half the girls in six city blocks trying to snag his gaze and maybe a little bit more. He'd been a good kid, though, and thought he'd found a great gal. They'd been engaged before the war. He'd given her a ring that had belonged to his grandmother. Sally had said that she would wait - and she had. But what had come back from the war wasn't something that she was willing to marry. She pretended for a while, but she couldn't handle the sight of him in the VA hospital. She'd visited a few times while he was still bed bound. She'd cast a few uncomfortable glances at the blanket on the bed where the outline of his leg should have been but wasn't, but she'd managed to carry on her side of the conversation well enough.

The ill-timed visit where she saw him struggling to learn how to walk again was her last trip to the VA, though. He hadn't seen her since she left the hospital after that visit. The next day he'd received an envelope with the ring and a short note. "I'm sorry. I can't." She certainly didn't beat around the bush. At least she'd had the decency to give him back the ring. Sousa wondered what she would think of him now that the worst part of rehabilitation was over. Considering the scarred stump of what used to be his leg he thought she still might not be so keen on him.

Objectively he knew he looked pretty much the same above the waist - at least when he was fully clothed and sitting down. A little leaner than he had been before the war. When standing he was now off-balance. Constantly slightly left of center. Off-kilter. Crooked. When walking it was worse. He occasionally caught a glimpse of himself in the tall glass windows along the streets and it always made him sigh and look away. He hated the way he lurched around.

If he hated the sight of himself so much, he wondered, why did he insist on doing this every evening? He was ready for bed. He stood there in his undershorts, forcing himself to look at himself in the full length mirror. Some days - good days - he started at the bottom and brought his glance upwards, ending at his unchanged face. On other days when he was feeling sorry for himself he started at the top, figuring that he would leave the worst to last.

Naked above the waist he looked pretty much that how he always had although tilted to the side. He tried to straighten himself up and square his shoulders. There. That was better. His hair was still dark and thick. His chest and upper arms were strong and well defined. He made sure to work out the muscles on his right side so as to keep himself from getting over muscled on the opposite side where he supported himself with his crutch. Below his shorts, however, it all went to hell.

His left leg looked good to him. It matched his torso in muscle tone and mass. The scars on this side were almost hidden under the dark hair of his leg. He could pretend that his left leg was unharmed. His right leg was a different story. He had to force himself to look at it every time. It was shriveled and scarred - at least what was left of it. The shrapnel had torn through his muscle and left his flesh in shreds. They had tried to keep more of it, but after a number of surgeries they'd amputated. What was left was pretty hideous, too, but at least he had his knee. He had fought to keep it - they had seriously considered removing it - but he felt that every inch of his leg that he could keep was a small victory.

Would he ever find someone who didn't care about that? Someone who wouldn't be repulsed by his leg or lack thereof? He'd had a buddy try to cheer him up with a call girl once, but she had accidentally brushed against his prosthetic as he attempted to keep her from groping him and that was the end of that. He hadn't really tried much with the girls after that. Seemed kind of pointless. Sally couldn't handle it and easy women didn't interest him. Best not to risk it going after girls anyway. Do good work for the SSR and keep his evenings to himself. Better than getting his heart stomped on every time some girl decided he wasn't worth the discomfort of dealing with his leg.

Damnit. Why was he being so depressing tonight. Was it Krzeminski's stupid dig about his crutch? Was he just feeling maudlin about the guy's death? He hadn't particularly liked the jerk but he certainly hadn't wanted to see him get killed. He stopped staring at his stupid stump and tried to shake himself out of his funk.

Sousa was generally a pretty content fellow. His had his bad days - sometimes his heart ached so much that he thought it would stop beating, sometimes he woke up in a sweaty panic thinking it was back on the battlefield about to see his buddy step on a landmine, but he managed okay. He'd been joking with Peggy that day he'd found her in the records room. He often did that - made light of his physical problems - to set people at ease. The only thing worse that having a damn peg leg was having people feel sorry for you about it.

He realized that after the war he had actually been pretty lucky - professionally speaking. His personal life was a wreck. His father was ashamed of him and his mother was too timid to talk much to him without permission. But his professional life? It wasn't so bad. He'd been good at puzzles and math when he was in school. He'd planned on using the G.I. bill to go to school to learn a trade, and when he took an aptitude exam he'd been singled out and offered a position at the SSR. He had to admit that it was probably better than repairing engines, which was what he'd thought he'd be doing. Maybe he'd be able to do a little good in the world.

But why the hell couldn't he stop thinking about Peggy? She was making him all introspective and if there was one thing that Sousa knew, it was that no good came of thinking too hard about his life and what could have been.


	2. Chapter 2

Enough introspection. Lets get to the two of them interacting, shall we? As usual our heroine is self confident, direct, and to the point.

Sorry it's a little short. When I'm posting as I go it's harder to make the chapters equal lengths!

XXX

Daniel hadn't been snooping in her desk - he really hadn't. He had been looking for a specific file that he was certain she had on her desk earlier. In the process of rooting through her top drawer he had uncovered a photo that made him furrow his brow and take a second look. It was a photo of Steve Rogers before he'd been treated with the serum. Daniel had seen a version of this photo before and it had amazed him then as is amazed him now. The transformation was truly remarkable. He knew - everyone knew - that Peggy had worked with Captain America. It was in all the files. What wasn't in the files, but what everyone suspected anyway, was that she had feelings for him. Who wouldn't?

Daniel had never met the man in person - although he had heard that his very own squadron had been rescued once from behind enemy lines by intelligence gathered by him - but from everything he knew about him it wasn't a surprise that Peggy would have been interested in him. And from everything Daniel knew about Peggy, it wasn't a surprise that he had been interested in her. Peggy was beautiful, of course, but she was also smart and capable. She intimidated the other men in the department and they reacted by ramping up the misogyny. At least that's what Daniel hoped. It was a toss up, though, as to which would be worse - that they treat her that way because they were intimidated, or that they treat her that way because they really thought a woman couldn't do the job.

That was how Peggy caught him - leaning over her open desk drawer, deep in thought, with a framed photo of a skinny Steve Rogers in his hand.

"Agent Sousa," her voice was sharp and very British. She was angry. "Is there something I might help you with, or should I leave you to continue rifling through my personal effects?"

He turned to her with an embarrassed look on his face. He set the photo immediately back into the drawer. "I'm sorry, Peg - Agent Carter. I was looking for a file that I thought you might have." She continued to stare at him with her arms crossed and her eyes slitted in anger. "It was terribly wrong of me to disrespect your privacy and open your desk. I apologize and I promise that it will never happen again. I'm very sorry."

His honest and open words disarmed Peggy, as did the expression on his face. He looked legitimately ashamed. Her arms fell to her side and her mouth gaped open ever so slightly. It gave Sousa enough time to make his escape, which wasn't particularly quick considering that he had to arrange his crutch and limp away. Not exactly a smooth exit.

He sat at his desk and stared intently at the files in front of him but wasn't reading a word. He was busy berating himself for being an ass. When he ran out of choice words for himself he started to wonder about that photo. Why did she have that photo? Why not one of the numerous photos of Captain Rogers taken in his physical glory. Peggy entranced Daniel - he finally admitted it. He'd tried to ignore it for the months that they'd worked together but he couldn't ignore it any more. Any girl more interested in pre-serum Steve Rogers was a girl worth getting to know better.

But would she be interested in getting to know him better? He'd hardly ever let himself dare to hope before, but maybe this time it was worth a little risk? Maybe she wasn't just pretending - maybe she really did think of him as a friend. But would she care about his leg? Was she still stuck on Steve? Would she want to go out with him? Where could he take her? Not dancing. He had enough of a sense of humor about himself to smile ruefully at that thought. Definitely not dancing.

His mind was reeling with these new thoughts - thoughts he hadn't allowed himself to entertain ever before. Somehow knowing that she kept that photo in her drawer made him think that she was a different sort of woman. Maybe the sort of woman who could be interested in a guy like him.

His mind was still racing when he was suddenly startled by a voice speaking to him. Her voice.

"Daniel," not Agent Sousa. Daniel. He looked up. "I was wondering if you'd like to join me for a cup of coffee after our shift ends tonight." She smiled and her face was unreadable. He gaped at her, momentarily unable to form syllables with his mouth.

Suddenly he found his voice.

"That sounds great, Peggy. Thanks."

Did his voice sound as strange to her as it did in his own ears? He'd been going for casual but wasn't sure if he'd achieved it. He thought that he must not have mucked it up too badly as her response was only to smile broadly - a smile that he didn't know if he'd even seen before that left him speechless once more - and say "lovely," and then turn and walk back to her desk.

Sousa sat there motionless, following her with his eyes as she walked back to his desk. What on earth had just happened?


	3. Chapter 3

I'm hoping that the POV isn't driving anyone crazy. I usually do third-person omniscient, but I'm trying to force myself to NOT get into Peggy's head for this one because I almost feel like that would be cheating on what I'm trying for here, but I'm afraid that I'm drifting a bit… Anyway, I think I'm getting the feeling I want from Sousa's head so I'm forging ahead with whatever on earth I've started here. Apologies for anyone losing their mind over my POV, but it's too late to change now! Cheers!

xxxxxxxxxx

He'd been pretty much useless for the rest of the day - well, not useless, but he certainly didn't feel like he was earning his paycheck. He kept thinking about Peggy. What on earth had made her go from chastising him about invading her privacy to inviting him out for coffee?

Finally, on what felt like the ten thousandth time he'd checked the clock, it was finally fifteen minutes from the end of their shift. He stood up with some effort and limped to the mens washroom. He was always stiffer after he'd been sitting for a while.

Looking in the mirror he straightened his tie, brushed some lint off his collar, and smoothed a few stray hairs back in place. He squared his shoulders and stretched his back out. This was as good as it was getting, he supposed. After a quick check to make sure he didn't have any food in his teeth or something equally embarrassing, he made his way back to his desk.

He wasn't sure how Peggy wanted to play this exactly. He was pretty sure that she didn't want it telegraphed all over the office that the cripple and the dame were going out for coffee together after work, so when she gathered her things up and prepared to leave he did the same and followed her until they had reached street level. The other agents leaving at the same time quickly scattered, none of them particularly interested in the two people who were slowly exiting the building at the back of the group.

"Well, where to, Agent Carter?" Daniel asked with a smile. He figured she'd started this thing so he'd let her lead it.

"There's a nice little automat that I frequent two blocks over. Would that be acceptable? And please call me Peggy of course." She smiled over at him again and Sousa felt a funny stirring in his heart. It had been a while since a pretty woman had smiled at him that way - at least one who knew about his leg. He tended to get a number of smiles when he was sitting at a lunch counter or on the bus. Once they noticed his limp or his crutch, though, all those smiled faded and the women wearing them looked away sheepishly.

"Sounds swell."

"You're alright to walk there? Would you prefer a cab?" Peggy glanced to the bustling street as if ready to hail a yellow cab.

"Nope - I'll manage." Daniel for once appreciated the question. He knew it was asked with honesty, not with the derision that often followed people asking if they could accommodate him. "Lead the way."

Peggy headed off to her left and he followed. She metered her pace to his but he was surprisingly fast on his crutch once he got going in a straight line. It was maneuvering in small spaces where he was the most awkward.

The minutes passed easily as they walked toward the automat. They chatted about the work they had done that day and Peggy recounted a funny story about the man at the counter of the deli where she had picked up everyone's lunch. For the first time in a long time Daniel didn't glance at his reflection in the shop windows as they passed by.

They soon arrived at the automat, but Peggy paused just outside the door, peering in through the windows..

"Something wrong, Peggy?"

"Not exactly. My down-the-hall neighbor is working right now - I had thought that she had tonight off."

"Is that a problem?" Daniel furrowed his brow. He wondered just how under the radar Peggy had wanted this outing to be.

"Not exactly. She's just going to give me the third degree tonight about the fine-looking fellow I took out for coffee. Oh well. I suppose there's nothing to be done about it now." One of the waitresses in the automat had caught Peggy's eye through the window and had raised a hand in greeting. Daniel saw the waitress' glance pass over to himself and he smiled broadly. It was a mile he knew had a good effect on women. It was a smile he hadn't used very much as of late. The waitress smiled back through the window.

"Let us go discuss publically our fascinating jobs at the phone company." Peggy said as she pushed her way into the restaurant.

As Daniel followed her, his smile widened into a legitimate grin behind her back. A fine-looking fellow, was he? He'd been called worse. They entered the automat, him struggling only slightly with the revolving door. Peggy led him to a booth and they settled themselves down on the cushions. The waitress, whose nametag proclaimed her as Angie, immediately approached them.

"Hey there, English. How's things? Who'd you bring along here?" She raised one eyebrow at Daniel. He recognized the tone of voice. He'd heard it often in his youth when the younger sisters of his friends were giggling about boys.

"Angie, this is my co-worker, Daniel Sousa. We're just unwinding from the day. Daniel, this is Angie, our waitress for the evening and my neighbor."

Angie turned to Sousa and he held out his hand, flashing her another smile as he shook her hand. "I'm Daniel, nice to meet you." He gestured to his crutch. "You'll forgive me if I don't stand up." His instinct was always to put people at easy by joing about his disability and he did so smoothly. Angie winked at him.

"No problem, Daniel. You just make yourself good company for my friend English over here and you're welcome to not stand up for me any time!"

Peggy asked for a couple of coffees and two slices of pie - Sousa nodded his assent for apple - and Angie practically skipped off to fill their order.

There was a moment of companionable silence before Sousa broke it.

"I gotta know, Peggy, what is it about a guy invading your privacy that gets him asked out for coffee?"

Peggy looked down at her hands clasped in her lap then raised her eyes to meet his gaze. "I suppose that I realize that perhaps having a friend at work might not be such a bad thing."

Friend - she threw that out on the table right away. Would he mind being friends with Peggy Carter? Certainly not. Certainly better than casual acquaintances and co-worker. Daniel wasn't an idiot - he knew that friends was a good place to start. He could work with friend. But he did have a few questions that he wanted to ask and he was a little afraid that they would kick him right back to casual acquaintance or worse.

But Peggy seemed to be feeling communicative and was, after all, the one who had instigated this whole evening, so she obviously didn't mind talking to him. He was still worried, though that what he was dying to know would end up pushing the boundaries of what one should talk about over coffee and pie with a co-worker.


	4. Chapter 4

"Why do you keep that photo of Steve Rogers in your desk?" Daniel couldn't help himself. He was dying to know, but he thought he probably should have warmed up to that question. Ever have any beloved pets killed before your eye? Any nightmares you want to tell me about? Shall I rip out your fingernails for you? Suddenly Daniel thought that he'd made a terrible mistake.

But for whatever reason, Peggy didn't shut him down. In fact, she almost seemed to want to tell him. She looked out across the restaurant, not meeting his eyes and began to speak before Daniel could try to pull himself out of the hole that he was certain he'd just dug for himself.

"I suppose it's because it's the only part of Steve that I can have to myself. No one talks about what kind of man he was before he was treated with the serum. They focus on what he could do after he'd been changed into the mighty Captain America. But I still remember his as Steve, the scrawny young man, shorter than I, who fought for what he thought was right even before he had the power to do anything.

"Did you know that he pretended to be from five different places to try and get enlisted?" Daniel shook his head.

She continued. "Five different tries, five times rejected. 4F every time. He just wouldn't give up trying to do what he thought was right.

"He fought people twice his size for disrespecting the men fighting the war and upsetting the family they left behind. He maybe hadn't made the wisest choices, but even as a scrawny sickly young man they seemed like the only right thing to do.

"All he wanted to do was his part. When given the chance to do more he jumped at it and volunteered for a program that could just have easily killed him as transformed his body as successfully as it did. Everyone in the country has a claim on Captain America. He's got radio programs and posters and costumes in shops. But I feel like I'm the only one who has Steve. If I don't remember him as who he was before the serum than that part of him will be lost."

Her voice was wistful but her eyes were clear. Whatever feelings she harboured for Steve Rogers were in check.

"I'll never forget him at boot camp - this was before he had been chosen to take the serum for Project Rebirth. He was trying to keep up with some of the biggest brutes you'd ever seen."

Peggy smiled, as if she were already remembering the punchline of the story. "We challenged the recruits to retrieve the flag at the top of a thirty foot flag pole. Steve stood back and watched as twenty men scrambled over themselves like rats escaping a ship trying to claw their way up the slick metal. Once they had been called off, he simply walked up to the pole, pulled the pin at the bottom and let the pole fall down. He figured out the smart way to do it, not the way that involved brute strength.

"That's what made him so much different from the other men. He never had strength, so he had to figure out how to solve problems without it. That's why when he was given the strength he was smarter about how to use it. There's a reason he liked the shield - it gave him the extra moment that he needed to figure out how to do something the best way rather than the most forceful way."

Daniel had always admired Captain America, but in an abstract kind of way. To hear about him as Steve Rogers rather than as Captain America was pretty fascinating. He could understand now why Peggy kept that photo. Steve Rogers was the man - Captain America was the idol. Some women were drawn to an idol, but Daniel was smart enough to realize that a woman like Peggy would have cared more for the man behind the shield.

"I can't imagine why I'm telling you all this." Peggy focused on her untouched pie on the table in front of her. "I suppose I really did need a friend at the office."

Daniel thought he could understand the sentiment. The secrecy was hard for the agents, but at least among themselves they could talk about their jobs and their issues. He could image that it was much more difficult for Peggy. It was a matter of employment that no one know exactly what they did. She obviously had no one she could talk to about anything outside of work. He had trouble with Thompson and Krzeminski, but the other agents were okay to him and treated him reasonably well, even if they did tend to underestimate him. Peggy really was alone.

Not only was she alone, but she had gone from a woman of action to a Agent in name only and a glorified secretary in actuality. It must be incredibly difficult for her.

Daniel finally spoke again. "You two were close." It was a statement, not a question. As soon as the words crossed his lips Daniel prepared for a withering glance and a cold shoulder, but Peggy must have known that his was well intentioned and she continued to speak.

"Yes, we were close. It was a hard time for everyone - no time for much more than pleasantries in passing. Steve hadn't had much luck with women in the past and now he was the idol of every girl in uniform and civvies." She chuckled. "He wasn't really used to the attention. He handled it as well as he could manage, I suppose."

This time Daniel kept his mouth shut. Peggy continued.

"Did I love him?" Sousa wondered if she could read his thoughts. He wouldn't dare have asked that question out loud. "Yes, I did. But everything happened so fast there was never a chance for us to be together. Everything was waiting for the war to be over - for the fighting to stop long enough for us to have a dance. And that never happened." She sighed.

"Steve Rogers was the best man I knew, but he's not the only good man in this world. I can't pine away for something that never was and never will be." At this point Daniel thought she had forgotten he was even there. She seemed to be talking mostly to herself. It seemed to be doing her good.

But then she pulled herself out of her haze and focused once more on the man sitting across from her in rapt attention.

"And what about you, Daniel?" Daniel. It sounded nice when she said it. Peggy rarely called him Daniel. Had she ever before tonight? "I've shared my tale of woe with you, please tell me yours."


	5. Chapter 5

"My tale of woe? Happy to, Peggy." He shifted himself in his seat and took a sip of coffee. It was rapidly cooling down and he expected Angie to be by any minute to top it off. "Unlike Steve, my story goes the other way. Before the war I was quite popular with the ladies. Now, though, they're a bit less interested."

Peggy gave him a half smile and her full attention.

"I was a pretty average kid. Clever enough, popular enough. Met a girl, thought I fell in love with her, then got the great idea that I should enlist and serve my country. She said she'd wait and I gave her a ring." Daniel felt very little when he talked about Sally now. It was almost like it had happened to another person.

"Three years later I was a little too close to a land mine when it went off. Farther away that the poor fellow who stepped right on it, but close enough that it did a number on my leg. Shrapnel tore it pretty much to shreds."

He wanted to gloss over the traumatic event itself as he usually did when asked to describe the circumstances of his injury. Surely Peggy had seen her share of casualties in the war, wasn't it the least he could do to spare her the details? No one wants to know what it was like to be next to someone blown up by a landmine.

But Peggy had told him real truth - real personal truth. She deserved that from him at least. He always justified leaving out the worst parts of his story but he felt like he couldn't do that now. Not this time. Not with her. If anyone could understand what it had been like it would be Peggy.

Daniel usually slept well, but if he ever did wake up in a cold sweat it was because of what he was about to tell the woman sitting across from him. If it was going to be too much for her he'd rather find out now. So he moved now to the part that he never talked about to anyone - not even the white coated doctor at the VA who kept haranguing him about it.

He told her about his friend Jimmy who had set off the mine. About how there was just enough time between the audible click of Jimmy stepping on the mine and it exploding for Jimmy to realize what was about to happen. About how he had seen it in his friend's eyes - seen that Jimmy had know what was about to happen.

"It wasn't enough time for him, but I sometimes wonder if it had been just enough time for me to start to turn away from the explosion. Not enough time to save my leg, but probably enough so that the shrapnel that hit my back and my side didn't hit my face and my chest. Maybe enough time to save my life."

Peggy's face was pained. He knew that she understood what it was like to lose someone in the field. He tried to lighten the mood. "Better the scars on my legs than on this handsome mug of mine, huh?"

It was a clumsy attempt but Peggy knew what he was trying to do and she clung to it with him.

"It would certainly have been a tragedy to scar that face of yours, Daniel." She smiled, breaking the glum haze hanging over the table.

"Afterwards they tried to keep as much of it - my leg, that is, not my face - as they could but it wasn't looking so good. There were some problems for a while but in the end I was able to keep the knee, which makes things a lot easier."

That part was easier to talk about - the clinical stuff. He did leave out the part about him almost dying from blood loss, shock, and infection, though. He was unconscious for that part so he didn't have anything terribly interesting to say about it anyway.

"They sent what was left of me home for rehabilitation. It was, well, it was difficult. Sally - the girl I was engaged to - she came by a few times but couldn't handle it. I was in pretty rough shape. I can't say that I blamed her too much. Learning how to walk was hard and it still hurt like a son of a gun. I probably wasn't at my best."

By this point in his story Daniel's nerves were feeling pretty raw. The only thing he hated more that getting blown up was remembering how hard it had been to recover from getting blown up.

"Rehab was terrible. Being on pain medication almost always was terrible. I had my share of dark times wishing that I'd been just a few feet closer to Jimmy when that damn mine had exploded. That was what I was like when Sally left and decided not to come back. It was better for her. I was kind of a mess."

He did believe what he was saying. He was a different person after the war, missing leg or not. He didn't think it would have been the same with Sally as it had been before he shipped out. It was a bad way to get there but it was probably better in the long run.

"I was a pretty well balanced kid before the war and I managed okay once the worse was over. Getting out of the hospital did worlds for me and once I got the peg leg - even as uncomfortable and awkward as it is - once I got it and I knew I would still be able to take care of myself I managed okay. With one crutch and the leg I can do alright."

Daniel was independent, and that's what he had longed for the most. In his worst days in the hospital he had worried that he'd never be able to take care of himself. But as his independence grew so did his confidence. He had a job that made a difference, he had a handful of friends from before the war who he still kept in touch with, and he had the ability to take care of himself. Some of the guys at the agency were asses about it, but Daniel knew that was their problem, not his.

Peggy was still looking at him with clear eyes. He couldn't remember the last time a woman had paid so much attention to him.

"After that it was mostly pity from men and and repulsion from women. Sometimes I get pity from women, too, which is always fun. They either want to run from me or take care of me - neither of which is ideal. And the guys just think I'm slightly above useless. If I could carry more things while I walked I'm sure I'd get sent on lunch runs, too."

There was a pause before Daniel spoke again. "There was this one time, after I'd recovered well enough physically. Had the crutch - still two at that point, actually, but I'd gotten the leg by then. I limped into a diner and everyone stopped eating and started applauding me. I was in my uniform and I thought that they must just be clapping for me because I served and I came back alive. So I bowed at them all and played it off as a joke. Then I'm working on my meal and I look up and see another GI walk in so I put down my knife and I put down my fork and I get ready to clap but nobody else does a thing. It's silence. Then I realized that they weren't clapping for me, they were clapping for this," he gestured to his crutch leaned up against the seat. "They were clapping because I make them feel guilty and they wanted to feel better." He had finished his story. It had exhausted him. He needed more pie.

After a few moments Peggy broke back in with a wry smile.

"Well aren't we just a couple of sad sacks with our painful memories and depressing stories. Now that that's all out of the way perhaps we could have some more cheerful conversation?" She lifted her coffee mug as if to toast. "To the future, Daniel?"

He met her mug with his own; the sound was more of a clunk than a clink. "Sounds great, Peggy. To the future!"

After that the conversation got noticeably lighter. They told funny stories about the war and their childhoods. Daniel told her about how he had sort of fallen into service with the SSR. Peggy told him about some of her exploits with the Howling Commandos. Steve's name came up a few times - as it naturally would have - but it wasn't awkward. She talked about him as she would an old friend, and Daniel appreciated the relationship that she had had with him.

It was wonderful. They seemed to have the same sort of dry humor and sharp wit. Peggy was grinning and Daniel thought it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. He felt like he was reflecting her new positive every back and it made him feel better than he had in months. Years, perhaps. He was invigorated. The stress of laying himself bare to her was washed away by her presence and the sound of her voice.

Maybe he hadn't realized how much he needed a friend at work, too.


	6. Chapter 6

Two slices of pie - each - and an endless supply of coffee later, Peggy glanced at her watch and frowned slightly.

"I'm afraid that my curfew approaches."

"Curfew? Where are you living, a boarding school?"

"I feel a boarding school would serve better meals, sadly. I'm at the Griffith - an establishment for single ladies. One must put up with quite a lot if one wants affordable accommodations as a single woman in this city."

Daniel realized that must be true - he continued to under appreciate what Peggy was constantly dealing with. He certainly had no curfew at his bachelor apartment, but it wasn't really in the sort of building that a single woman would ever want to stay in. At least for more than one night - which at least some women seemed happy to do in the apartments surrounding his. There was frequently a woman scurrying out through the lobby in the wee hours of the morning with her lipstick wiped off and her hair a mess. Peggy didn't seem one to scurry.

He took out his wallet and with a rustle of bills, he left enough on the table for their meals and a generous tip. Angie swooped in almost instantly and took the cash to the register to ring out.

"Let me take you home, Peggy. I'd hate for you to run into any trouble and miss your bedtime." He smiled at the thought of this independent woman having a bedtime.

"That's really not necessary, Daniel. Angie is just getting off now and we will walk over together." She gestured to the back of the restaurant where Sousa could indeed see their waitress removing her apron and sliding her arms into a jacket. "It's not far."

Sousa didn't want the night to end just yet but he was running out of excuses. He could hardly claim that Peggy couldn't take care of herself. After some of the stories she had told he realized that she was pretty much proficient in hand to hand combat. He pitied the purse snatcher who accosted her.

Peggy reached across the table and placed her well manicured hand on top of Daniel's hand. He fingers were warm and soft. He stilled. "Don't worry, Daniel, this surely won't be the last time we go out for coffee together." She smiled.

"Well, alright then. I suppose you can handle yourself. I'll see you at work tomorrow?" He tried to hide the way his heartbeat had sped up at her touch. What was he, sixteen years old? He was being ridiculous.

"Absolutely," she murmurred. He managed a smile even as his throat tightened. He had never heard anything as desirable as her accented voice whispering about seeing him again soon.

He couldn't pretend anymore - he wasn't going to be satisfied with just friends. Every desire that he had ever had but had pretended he no longer needed came rushing back to him. He couldn't live a eunuch's life. He couldn't be alone for the rest of his time on this earth. And Peggy was amazing - unlike any other woman he had ever known.

They stood and Daniel helped Peggy into her jacket and they walked out to the sidewalk together. Angie hadn't joined them yet.

"I had a lovely evening, Daniel." Peggy was close to him - he could smell her perfume. Or maybe that was just her? He didn't know. He was suddenly out of breath.

She met his eyes and smiled at him and he noticed her stretching up on her tip toes toward him. He instinctively leaned toward her and at the last moment - just before he imagined their lips meeting - she moved slightly to the side and kissed him on the cheek. "Until next time, Agent Sousa." Daniel stopped breathing and he could swear that his heart had just stopped beating as well. He was frozen.

An instant later Daniel suddenly noticed Angie had joined them and was standing a few steps away and it broke him from his trance.

"Come on, you." Angie said to Peggy with a chuckle. "You'll get us both kicked out of the Griffith and then what are we supposed to do."

Peggy touched his sleeve and met his eyes once more before joining Angie across the sidewalk. He missed the contact as soon as it had been broken. Wordlessly, Daniel watched at the two women walked away side by side. After a few dozen paces he was still watching them when Peggy turned part way around and smiled. At that, Angie turned as well and appeared to giggle. Some women were gigglers, some not. Sousa figured that Peggy was the latter.

Daniel hailed a cab and awkwardly entered the back seat giving the cabbie his address. What an evening that had turned into. Peggy was remarkable - truly remarkable. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and wasn't afraid to get it.

Daniel seemed to remember more eyelash batting and downturned glances when he'd been going out with girls. But Peggy wasn't a girl - she was a woman who always seemed to know what she wanted. He couldn't really picture Peggy batting her eyelashes at him. The way she had held his eyes as she stretched up to kiss him kept his stomach turning in a strange but not unpleasant way.

He couldn't stop smiling all the way up to his room. He was in such a good mood that he forgot his self-inflicted practice of looking at his leg in the mirror. Instead he stretched back against his pillows and thought about Peggy Carter and her last statement. He was very much looking forward to going out for coffee with her again. Perhaps tomorrow?


	7. Chapter 7

Okay, so we all loved Daniel's glimpse of Peggy in her skivvies, right? And next week - ooooooh! - Sousa is so conflicted and tough… I love it! The only guy there who can actually do detective work. It's hard to stay on this track when so much fascinating character development is actually happening on screen. However, this whole piece started with one scene in my mind and I haven't even gotten there yet! So onwards!

Also, Thompson is a dick. I really wish they'd stop trying to make him sympathetic. I WILL NOT BE SWAYED!

xxx

Daniel insisted on a taxi - part chivalry and part the fact that he didn't feel like walking all the way back to Peggy's apartment, but he also didn't want to leave her just yet. The cab dropped them off around the corner from the entrance and Peggy waited on the street while Daniel paid the cabbie and extricated himself from the vehicle.

He'd been thinking of something for a while and he couldn't let one more night pass without giving it a shot. This maybe wasn't the perfect place, but he really didn't care any more. He couldn't wait any longer.

After exiting the cab, Daniel limped over to a darkened door well. He looked down at his crutch as if something had gone wrong with it.. "Peggy, can you come here and help me with this?"

"Of course," Peggy laughed and approached him. "What seems to be the issue?"

"This." Daniel brought his free hand up to gently cradle the side of Peggy's face and drew her towards him pressing his lips to hers. In the first instant Peggy was stiff and resisted - did she not want this? Had Daniel misread her cheek kisses and hand holds? Did she really just want to be his friend?

But in the next moment all his worried disappeared. Peggy melted into him and met his kiss. Oh thank god.

After a few moments she pulled away just long enough to look into his eyes. He knew his eyes were questioning, but all his answers were found in her gaze and by the way she blinked languidly once and then leaned back in. Her hands came up to pull him towards her, as well, and Daniel had to dedicate a small amount of conscious thought to not toppling over. He knees had gone slightly weak and he leaned heavily on his crutch.

Their first kiss had been chaste and questioning - Was this okay? Was everyone on board with this? It was closed lips, warm and soft. The kiss she brought him back down to was anything but. Her fingers twined in his dark hair and she sighed softly into his mouth as they kissed like no two respectable people should.

It was like the floodgates had burst. However many years of repressing desires and feelings on both sides - to be able to finally release the want and desire that every human craved - it was unbearably wonderful. Daniel saw stars behind his eyelids.

He hadn't realized how worried he had been that she wouldn't reciprocate. He needn't have been concerned. Peggy was as passionate as she was confident. Daniel had no idea how much time had passed when he finally broke them apart with a gasp and fell backwards the few inches necessary to lean against the cool bricks behind him.

"Wow, Peggy. You'll take a fellows legs right out from under him."

Peggy leaned forward, resting her cheek on Daniel's chest. He wondered if she could hear his heart beating. He could hear it thudding in his ears like the propellor on an airplane.

"And it's hardly fair when you only have one of them to start with," she teased.

Daniel laughed. Any left over tension vanished. Daniel thought that it couldn't possibly more perfect. Well, actually, maybe it could be, he thought as Peggy reached up toward him once again and pulled his head down to meet hers.

This kiss felt less panicky and desperate - like getting the uncertain kiss and the passionate kiss out of the way was leaving room for something a little more personal. Daniel knew now that he'd made the right decision in instigating the kiss. Peggy was ready to move past friends - this kiss made that clear. How that would work in the real world - outside this tiny world in this darkened stairwell - he had no idea, but he was happy enough right then that he didn't want to worry about it.

A minute later? An hour? Daniel had no concept of time - the door next to them creaked open and a older woman poked her head out. Peggy and Daniel pulled apart quickly and looked over sheepishly. The wall was the only thing that kept Daniel from falling over.

"Darlings, I hate to break up young love, but I need to go pick up my daughter after her shift and I'm going to need to get out of this door." Her voice was kindly. She seemed sweet and with a wave and an "of course, so sorry!", Daniel and Peggy hurried off with varying levels of grace.

"I should take you home anyway, Peggy. I can't keep you up all night," Daniel said. Even though I would dearly love to, he finished to himself.

They turned the corner and Peggy put her hand on the door handle. Almost at the same time she realized it was locked, a crotchety-looking woman glared at them through the two sets of doors between them and the lobby and approached the first set of doors. A large ring of keys was clasped in her fist. She didn't look happy.

"Oh, bollocks." Peggy swore. She turned toward Daniel. "It's past curfew. You think you can talk my way out of this one?" Peggy looked legitimately worried. Daniel knew that she had no desire to try and find a new apartment.

"I'll do my best. I can be very persuasive. Old ladies love me." He smiled.

Peggy quickly wiped some lipstick off his lower lip. "Better straighten your tie then, Agent Persuasive, because she's almost here, and if I get kicked out of this apartment building because of you I'll never let you forget it!"

Daniel adjusted his clothing to eliminate the evidence of the last few minutes. The old woman had bent her head and was looking for the correct key on her ring. They waited for her to breech the last barrier.

"You've come home after ten in the evening before, Peggy - how come you aren't always locked out?"

"You distracted me, Daniel. Usually if I get home after ten I go straight for the coal chute but frankly I wasn't quite thinking straight these last few minutes." He smiled at the thought of her matter-of-fact statement that she routinely entered her home via the coal chute. Of course she did - this was Peggy, after all.

He knew she wasn't really angry, but he would see if he could smooth this over. He knew what cards to play with this sort of busy body.

"What's her name again?"

"Miriam Fry."

Just at that moment the door burst open - the lady made even more angry with the amount of time it had taken her to accomplish that feat.

"What's the meaning of this, Ms. Carter? To show up after curfew and with a man none the less!" She was practically spitting. "I certainly hope you were planning on vacating your apartment tomorrow, because you've left me no choice but to evict you!"

Peggy remained silent - Daniel knew it was up to him to sweet talk this old bat.

"Ms Fry!" he exclaimed as if Mirial hadn't spoken, "please don't blame Ms Carter for her tardiness. You see, it was my fault. I can't move around on this thing very fast," he gently struck his false leg with the bottom of his crutch, making a metallic sound, "and Peggy here was simply too polite to go ahead without me, and I insisted on walking her home and delivering her safely to you at the Griffith."

Daniel's voice dripped with honey. He knew how to play this - first the cripple card now for the war hero bit.

"We were having a drink after our veterans meeting and I simply lost track of time. It's so hard to find someone who can share the trauma of serving overseas, don't you think?" As he spoke, Daniel tried to find the right expression of sympathy and condescension for those sad souls who didn't appreciate what it was like to serve one's country.

Miriam's face had immediately softened when she noticed Daniel's crutch and he had indicated his false leg. When he talked about his military service he thought she might swoon. She smiled at him but spoke to Peggy.

"And who might this charming young man be, Ms Carter?"

Daniel could hear the eye-roll in her voice when she replied.

"This is Daniel Sousa, Miriam. We work together at the phone company."

"Together?" She asked toward Daniel.

Daniel could sense the kill shot and he went for it.

"I'm Peggy's supervisor, Ms Fry. She is a wonderful assistant and I don't know what I would do without her."

Peggy coughed delicately. Daniel thought she might punch him later, but it was working.

Sympathy mixed with patriotism and topped with a dollop of misogyny. Daniel had read Miriam Fry perfectly.

She beamed up at Daniel, who was doing his best to look wounded, honorable, and sexist at the same time. He must have been succeeding.

"Oh Mr Sousa - what a pleasure to meet you! I'm always hopeful that my girls will find a fine upstanding gentleman and be able to leave the workforce. Women should be wives and mothers, don't you think? They weren't built for workplace drudgery." Daniel was hoping that Peggy could force herself to keep quiet. He was nearly through this, he thought - and he was winning.

"Of course, Ms Fry. All of us over there were fighting to keep our women - mothers and sisters and wives and daughters - safe. It's such a shame that it took us away from the homefront and forced our women out of the household. But it was the only thing we could do to ensure the safety of our families."

He was laying it on pretty think - even he could hardly believe what he was coming up with - but it was working a charm. Miriam Fry may possibly be falling in love with him just then. Peggy was surely planning on how to punish him for those words.

"Mr. Sousa, I can't thank you enough for delivering Ms Carter home safely. Perhaps on another occasion you would like to join us for tea?"

"Certainly, Ms Fry."

"Please - call me Miriam."

"Of course. It was lovely to meet you. Thank you for taking such good care of Peggy here." Daniel sensed another eye roll.

Peggy lifted a single eyebrow and gave him a grudging smile as she caught his glance as Miriam bustled her in through the door.

"Goodnight, Mr. Sousa," she said sweetly.

"Goodnight, Ms Carter," he said patronizingly.

He turned away from the glass front doors of the Griffith and started walking in the general direction of his apartment. He'd get a cab - it was too far to walk the whole way - but the night air was refreshing and it cooled his skin and calmed his nerves.

That was quite a night. A little romance, then some pseudo-espionage. Just another evening out with Peggy Carter.


	8. Chapter 8

My profuse apologies for the delay. What with the actual show going off on its own thing I had a hard time continuing my own little story. I think this is the second to last chapter - I'll let you guess what that means when you read to the end. Hope you like it. Apologies for the almost complete lack of actual plot. I just love them so much together that I can't help myself! I'm 100% convinced that Sousa is the husband Peggy mentions in The Winter Soldier.

XXX

When Daniel had suggested they they go to the Pelican Club that weekend Peggy had answered with her own question and a raised eyebrow.

"You want to go dancing?"

Daniel smiled. "No, I want to go to a club where there is wonderful music. It just so happens that some of the people there will be dancing."

It had been two months since their first coffee together - six weeks since their first kiss. Daniel had never been happier although he was waiting for the other shoe to drop at the agency, so to speak. They were getting worse and worse at hiding their relationship from their coworkers. It was only a matter of time before someone saw them together outside of work or they slipped up at the office and did something that gave them away.

Daniel didn't care. He was pretty resigned to the way the other agents treated him and he didn't think that this relationship being made public would make that any worse. Might actually improve his lot, actually, if he was being honest with himself. "At least the crip could get someone without paying for it."

But he worried that Peggy would be upset when it came out - as it inevitably would if they continued on this path. Her constant battle for respect and independence at the office would surely not be helped by people realizing that she was dating a coworker. The particular co-worker that she was dating wouldn't help, either. "Only the crip would put up with that mouthy broad."

Daniel realized the double standard but he was also aware that there was little that he - or she - could do about it.

They had discussed it - sort of - once as they sat over coffee.

"What if someone sees us," Daniel had asked.

"Then so be it," she had answered.

And he had asked it again as they shared a kiss outside the cinema after seeing a movie.

"What if someone sees us," Daniel had murmured into her ear, his voice rough. He wanted to do more that kiss this woman.

""Then so be it." She breathed back at him and pulled him back down to continue the kiss.

So he stopped worrying about it. It was her call and he let her make it.

But he did want to go to the Pelican club. He loved music - back before the war he'd been a good dancer and he and Sally had gone out dancing at every opportunity. There was something about music that thrilled him down to the very bottom of his soul. The sounds, the feel of the beat - he couldn't play a lick of anything resembling an instrument, but damn did he love listening to other people play!

Daniel was waiting for her in the lobby while chatting up Miriam Fry. He thought it a good idea to continue to strengthen that relationship even though he found it moderately exhausting to talk to her. He was discussing the importance of a woman's place in the home when he glanced up and lost his words and his train of thought. Miriam looked in the direction that he was now gaping.

"Well, it appears that Ms Carter has finally arrived." Miriam said with a smile.

"Yes," was all he could manage.

If he had been standing then he would have had to take a seat. He didn't think his one good leg would support him.

She was a vision in red. The dress hugged every curve that drove him crazy when we thought about her. Every curve that he could feel pressed up against him when he stole a kiss on the sidewalk or an empty stairwell. Every curve that he found himself dreaming of at night. Her dark hair was looser than she usually wore it to work and Daniel wanted to tangle his hands in it.

Daniel considered himself to be a gentleman, but this dress was making it difficult for him to maintain that. He could tell that he was staring. He could feel the hunger in his eyes. He knew that at that point he looked like every other creep ogling a pretty woman. He couldn't help it.

And the sly smile that Peggy flashed him when she saw the expression on his face made Daniel think that she knew exactly what she was doing to him, and that she was quite enjoying it. She was too smart not to know what sort of effect that dress would have on him.

Adjusting his expressing and clearing his throat Daniel stood up awkwardly and offered his arm to Peggy. "You look lovely, Peggy. Shall we?"

With only a smile and a nod Peggy slid her hand through his offered arm and they headed toward the doors. She offered a small amount of support - just enough that it allowed Daniel to crutch along with a significantly reduced limp.

He caught sight of them both in the reflection in the glass doors heading outside. It was dark outside and the interior light turned the doors into mirrors. He saw her in her dress standing next to him in that perfect red dress and he saw himself standing tall next to her in his best suit and tie.

The glass reflected their smiles and Daniel realized that he couldn't remember ever feeling this happy, even before the war. Even before losing his leg. If the price of meeting Peggy Carter was going through that all again he would do it in an instant.

A short cab ride later and they stood in front of a confused looking hostess who - after an uncomfortable glance at Daniels's crutch - eventually led them to a small table near the back of the club. The tables were set too close together for Peggy to hold his arm and Daniel struggled a bit in the narrow space. He was happy when he was able to sit down and partially hide his crutch under the table. It wasn't that he minded the looks he got, it was just that he hated calling attention to himself.

Daniel knew that Peggy enjoyed her bourbon straight, but this time she ordered a mint julip. "I think a mixed drink goes better with music, don't you agree?" she said.

Daniel ordered a Manhattan, but he left it mostly untouched after the first sip. He was almost immediately entranced by the music. His good leg was tapping out the beat on the floor and his left hand reflexively drummed on the edge of the table.

Peggy was staring at him with a small smile on her face.

"Daniel, I had no idea that you were such a fan! This is quite a surprise!"

"I've always loved it, Peggy, and a record player is nothing like experiencing it live don't you think?"

"I would have to agree." Peggy nodded. "When were you last at a place like this?"

"It's been years, actually. Only a couple of times since the war."

Peggy furrowed her brow. "Why so long if you love it so much?" She asked.

He smiled and shrugged. "If you think I get strange looks as a guy with one leg taking his girlfriend to a club, you should see the looks when I tried coming alone."

He saw Peggy's face sadden.

"Don't worry, Peggy! I don't mind any more - really. Besides, it's their loss if they're busy looking at me and missing the sight of you in that dress." He gave her his most rakish smile and she smiled back demurely. His voice was low and deeper than usual as he continued his thought. "I could just about eat you alive."

She reached across the small table and took his hand, stroking his palm with her thumb. "I don't know - you're looking pretty delicious yourself, Daniel." The look in her eyes made him believe her.

Afraid that he might do something untoward if they continued on this line of conversation, Daniel changed the subject but he didn't release her hand.

For the next hour they alternated between conversation and silence while watching the couples on the dance floor. The music was wonderful and the dancing was enthusiastic.

"Peggy, you know that I wouldn't mind if you accepted an offer to dance, right? I'm not going to force you to keep your feet on the ground with a great band like this playing!" Daniel smiled at Peggy. He was sincere - as the evening had progressed he could see Peggy swaying along with the music and it was obvious that she would like to dance. Daniel was confident enough in Peggy's feelings for him that he didn't think one dance would suddenly change her mind about him.

"Are you certain, Daniel? I wouldn't want to abandon you!" Peggy looked at him askance. He could tell that she was surprised by his offer.

"Of course, Peggy! I wouldn't say something like that if I didn't mean it."

Daniel could see the gears turning in her head. After a moment she pointed out a couple in the dance floor.

"Do you see them over there? The tall gentleman dancing with the woman in the blue dress?"

Daniel nodded. It was hard to miss them. The man was taller by half a head than nearly everyone else in the room and the woman was beautiful and had a laugh that Daniel could hear across the room.

"I chatted with her in the powder room a few minutes ago. That's her brother. He's in town from St. Louis for the weekend and her boyfriend stood her up tonight and she was already dressed for the evening so she made him come out with her."

Daniel couldn't help himself. "Ladies have much more involved conversations in the bathroom than men do." He grinned at her. "We just grunt and nod and only if absolutely necessary."

"If ladies had been in charge of the Geneva Conventions they would have been signed in the women's powder room, Daniel. There's a lot of bonding that goes on over compacts and lipsticks."

Daniel chuckled. He could only imagine what could have been accomplished if Peggy had been in charge of foreign policy.

"Let me go speak with Cynthia. I'll be back in a moment." Peggy stood and walked away toward their table. Daniel enjoyed the view.

The man stood up as Peggy approached. Daniel approved. Peggy started speaking and after a few moments she gestured toward him and they both looked in his direction. He half raised a hand and nodded toward them.

A moment later Daniel saw the woman spring up, nodding enthusiastically, and clasp Peggy in a warm hug. Ladies powder rooms must be wonderful places.

The woman had gathered her purse and all three of them were headed in his direction. Daniel started to stand up, giving himself enough time to manage it without retrieving his crutch from where he had stashed it under the table.

Peggy introduced them as they reached the table. "Cynthia and Philip Stanton, this is Daniel Sousa. Daniel, please meet Cynthia and her brother Philip."

Hellos and handshakes went all around and Philip quickly claimed two empty chairs to pull up around the table. They chatted for a few minutes but as the next number began, Philip stood and offered his hand to Peggy. With a smile back at Daniel, Peggy took the offered hand and headed toward the dance floor.

Daniel followed her with his eyes and he could feel Cynthia looking at him. "She's lovely, isn't she?" The younger women seemed sweet. Daniel couldn't believe anyone would stand her up.

"She is." Daniel said softly and then fell silent. Cynthia didn't seem to mind and for the next few minutes Daniel watched Peggy dance. She was good - they both were. Philip seemed chivalrous and Peggy was obviously having a good time. Seeing her happy made Daniel smile.

After a few minutes, Daniel pulled his gaze away from the vision in red that Peggy presented on the dance floor and behaved as he should and talked with Cynthia. It was hardly a chore. She seemed a lovely girl and Daniel was happy to talk with her.

He didn't know what Peggy had said exactly about why she was looking for someone with whom to dance, but Cynthia didn't mention anything, even when he could tell that she noticed his crutch under the table. They discovered that they had grown up in the same neighborhood and had plenty to talk about without delving into war wounds.

The next hour passed pleasantly. Philip danced with both Peggy and Cynthia and seemed happy to oblige. At one point the two men were left alone as the ladies went to powder their noses - or something else equally as unnecessary in Daniel's eyes.

Philip cleared his throat but didn't speak. Daniel wanted to say something but he wasn't sure what. "Thanks for dancing with my girlfriend because I can't do it myself." Nope. "I appreciate the loan of your functional legs for the evening." Even worse. Men are terrible at this, Daniel thought.

"So how do you like St. Louis?" was what he said. Philip seemed thrilled to have a topic and they chatted about the differences between St. Louis and New York until the ladies returned.

Eventually Cynthia let it be known that the time for her to leave was rapidly approaching. "I have to go to church with my grand mother in the morning and I'm making Philip come with us." Philip feigned annoyance and the two bickered like the siblings that they were. Daniel and Peggy watched the two young people and smiled.

Eventually they actually did stand up to leave and Peggy and Daniel followed suit. Daniel had stiffened up from sitting for so long but Peggy's hand on his elbow helped him up with slightly more grace than usual.

Philip took Peggy's hand. "Thanks for all the dancing, Peggy," he said with a warm smile. "It's nice to not have to dance with my sister all night long!"

Turning toward Daniel he clasped his hand firmly and shook it longer than totally necessary. "And thank you - for everything," there was something in his tone that Daniel immediately recognized and appreciated. He smiled in return. "Just did what needed to be done." Philip smiled once again and then released his hand, offered his arm to his sister who was just pulling away from Peggy, and they walked away.

It was the closest anyone had gotten to all night to addressing Daniel's injury and he had appreciated the respite - but he also appreciated Philips sentiment. He was a good kid.

Peggy echoed his unspoken sentiment. "What lovely young people they are, don't you think?"

Daniel was in agreement, but instead he said, "I think you're lovely."

He was happy that Peggy had found such a charming and inoffensive partner for the evening, but after hours of watching her graceful form move around the dance floor with another man he was longing for more than conversation. He wanted to pull her into his lap right there and do inappropriate things to her. Things he would have killed young Philip for even thinking of.

"Hold that thought, darling," Peggy said softly and hurried off toward the stage. Daniel lost sight of her in the crowd. Several minutes later she returned.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow in question. As if in answer, the band started a slow number. Peggy took Daniel by the arm and drew his away from the table and deeper into the corner. He glanced back at his crutch but Peggy wouldn't let him turn back.

"I've got you," she breathed and Daniel realized that she did, and he also realized that he was fine with that.

A few steps later and Peggy pulled them to a stop and turned toward him. "I still wanted to dance with you this evening, Daniel." His heart ached for the woman standing in front of him. She was perfect. How did she know that this was what he'd been longing for for hours. To hold her and move with her and feel the music within them both.

They came together in a swaying embrace more than an actual dance. She pressed close to him and he to her. Her cheek on his lapel and and against her hair - breathing in his scent.

He loved this woman. He knew it. Every fiber of his being wanted to be with her forever.

"I love you."

Had he said that? Had it slipped out? Had his heart bypassed his brain and gone directly to his mouth?

No. She had said it. She pulled away slightly and was now looking up into his eyes.

Daniel didn't have to think about how to answer - with his next breath he replied.

"And I love you, Peggy Carter."

Wordlessly he leaned toward her and captured her face in his hands and her mouth with his. Her arms wound around him even more tightly. Daniel had the briefest thought that this was not respectable public behavior but quickly realize that he didn't care.

Peggy had other ideas, however.

"Lets get out of here, Daniel." She breathed into his ear.

God he felt like a teenager. Every word she said to him was like a shot of adrenaline. His heart raced, his body pulsed. All of a sudden his skin felt too tight. He needed to get a hold of himself. He was an adult - he considered himself a gentleman - but he was rapidly losing his composure.

What on earth had she meant by that? Did she mean what he thought she meant?

They stumbled out of the club like drunk teenagers and fell into one of the waiting cabs at the curb.

"Where to, buddy?" The driver asked expectantly.

Peggy looked at Daniel and gave him a half smile and the faintest nod of her head. Still wondering if he was reading this correctly, Daniel choked out his own address while holding Peggy's gaze. Her expression indicated that it was indeed the correct response.

Daniel seemed to be taking Peggy Carter home with him, and he wasn't entirely certain that it had been his idea.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note:**

Okay - a few elephants in the room to address I suppose. Firstly, I did really consider whether Peggy would do this. I mean, Daniel would for sure (who wouldn't!), but our favorite Pegs? I figure she's a strong independent woman. She's not going to beat around the bush - she's going to go out and take what she wants. And what she wants is Daniel! I've got a thing for writing about strong women who aren't wilting flowers and Peggy definitely fits into that mold. Secondly, I totally did the fade to black thing. You guys can fill in the blanks yourself! Thirdly, this is probably the final chapter. Now that the series (season? fingers crossed!) is over I'm thinking about a Peggy/Daniel fic that follows what happened in the show but just embellishes it and takes it further. Honestly, this fic could start where the series ends! I hope you enjoyed! (However, if anyone has a compelling enough suggestion I could un-mothball it and add something new, but I'm itching to do something that actually tracks the show.)

XXX

As the cab zigged and zagged through the city toward its destination of Daniel's apartment he began to get a little nervous. Was Peggy sure? Was he? Had he left dirty laundry in the hamper? Was the elevator working? Dear god he hoped the elevator was working. He could only assume that watching him struggle up three flights of stairs would kill the mood.

All too soon the cab pulled to a stop and Daniel reflexively paid the driver. In another instant they were standing outside his building.

"Are you sure about this, Peggy?" He hung back.

"Daniel, we are both adults, yes? Fully functioning and reasonable adults, correct?"

He could only nod.

"Neither one of us is drunk or incapacitated, correct?"

He nodded again.

"Neither one of us is otherwise attached, correct?"

Another nod.

"So unless you can think on a reason, I suggest that you escort me into your building before we are accosted on the street."

Daniel led her in through the vestibule and over to the elevator which, thank heavens, creaked to life when he touched the call button. They remained silent for the slow trip to the fourth floor. Peggy kept smiling at Daniel, but Daniel struggled to mirror her expression. He grew more apprehensive as they made their way down the hall.

He opened the door to his apartment and allowed Peggy to enter first. He saw her glance around. It wasn't anything to be ashamed of. He certainly wasn't terribly proud of it either, but it was his and it suited his needs. As he shut the door behind them he imagined it through her eyes.

It was small - the floor space was mostly taken up with a single bed, an armchair and a chest of drawers - but it was tidy. He'd been an average kid as far as keeping his room neat, but he'd been a good soldier and his military training had stuck with him. The room was clean and the bed was made up with hospital corners. The chair was grey and slightly threadbare. There were some cheerful touches of color, however - a bright red blanket folded at the foot of the bed and a blue throw pillow on the chair. The only light was from a dim lamp on the far side of the room and the ambient light coming through the window. He didn't turn on any more lights - it was probably a better looking apartment in shadows.

A small kitchenette occupied one corner - no dishes, thankfully. He pretty much only used it for breakfast and dishing out the takeout he brought home with him nearly every evening. Next to the tiny kitchen was an even tinier bathroom. It was the bathroom that sold Daniel on the place. However small it was it was still a part of the room and he didn't have to strap his leg on to stumble down a hallway to use it in the middle of the night.

And therein lay the problem. The leg. Or rather, the lack of a leg.

Daniel believed Peggy when she said that she was ready to move on from her relationship with Steve Rogers. They had talked about their pasts more than most people usually did he was sure, but when two people had as much baggage as they did it seemed reasonable to unpack it early and thoroughly. He knew more about her relationship than probably anyone else alive it it didn't bother him. He knew that she would always care for Steve, but he also knew that she wasn't prepared to let the loss of him dictate the rest of her life.

And he believed that she was truly attracted to him. The way she responded to his touch and to his kisses left no doubt that she felt the same electricity that he did. She was just as likely as he to linger in a private corner or press up against him in a cab. She sought the touch of his hand and he could tell that the electricity that he felt when they kissed was felt by her, too.

And he knew that she wasn't superficial - she understood his injury and he knew she'd seen as bad before. She'd apparently fallen in love with him, limp and all. He accepted help from her naturally and seamlessly - help that he would never allow anyone else to provide him. He walked with less of a limp with her well manicured hand by his elbow, but he would rather fall flat on his face than have anyone but her try and help him in such a way.

But for some reason now that they seemed to be heading toward the consummation of their relationship and it was actually about to happen he was apprehensive. Hell, he was legitimately afraid of how she might react to the sight of his injury.

No one outside of medical personnel had ever seen his stump. Ever. He'd gotten used to looking at the thing himself, but being faced with her seeing him - seeing all of him - was making his stomach alternately drop toward the floor and rise into his throat. He no longer forced himself to look at his scars in the mirror - she had cured him of that - but that didn't mean that he was looking forward to having her see them.

Some distant part of him was telling him that of course she wouldn't mind - that she was different from anyone else he'd wanted to be with - but years of living in reality was making that voice hard to hear.

His discomfort must have been showing on his face more clearly than he had hoped because Peggy stepped close and her words were concerned. "What is it, Daniel? What's wrong?"

He avoided meeting her eyes.

"Well, it's just - I mean, since the war - since I got hurt." He trailed off. "No one's ever had to look at it."

"Look at what?"

Was she being serious? What on earth did she think he was talking about?

"At me. At my leg."

With a sigh and a smile Peggy lifted herself up onto her tip toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Oh, is that all, you silly thing?" She placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Do you really think I care about that?"

"No - I don't think that you *think* that you care. But you also haven't had to actually look at it yet."

"I'm sure I'll manage. Now stop your nonsense and kiss me." It was the only time he could remember being scolded into kissing someone.

Oh well, Daniel thought. Deciding to believe her, he obeyed and lowered his head to kiss her. The small supportive voice seemed a little bit louder now.

The embrace was like the Pelican Club only better. Peggy moulded her body to his and deepened the kiss. Daniel let his hand, which he usually tried to keep respectably at her waist or stroking her back, rome a bit more than he was used to. He tangled one hand in her hair as he had been wanting to all night. He used this new position to angle her against him, allowing him to deepen the kiss ever further and play his tongue against her lips. She responded with a moan and tipped her head back to allow him easier access.

His crutch clattered to the floor as the sound of her pleasure spurred him on and he lifted his second had to touch her.

His newly freed hand slid down her back, pausing at the top of the curve of her backside for a moment before dropping another few inches and then leveraging her up and in closer to him. He thought he head himself growl when Peggy responded by lifting up on her toes and sliding his leg between her thighs. She pressed back against him so firmly that he lost his balance and toppled back against the door, breaking the kiss and allowing him to try and catch his breath.

With a laugh Peggy broke away, quickly retrieved his crutch for him, and led him over to his bed. His gait was awkward as he followed her. That kiss seemed to have thrown off his balance completely. She guided him to sit on the edge of the bed and leaned his crutch within easy reach of the bed. He appreciated the gesture even in his current state of distraction. He had told her once how helpless he felt when his crutch was out of reach. She returned to him and sat down next to him on the bed. Daniels pulse had modulated slightly. She looked surprisingly composed.

She leaned over to slide off her shoes and Daniel took off his coat, tossing it over the chair across from the bed. She smiled coyly at him. "And the tie, please."

He maintained eye contact with her and dutifully removed his tie, sending it over toward the jacket. She seemed to be expecting more, however, so after a pause he began to unbutton his shirt. He struggled with the cuffs and as Peggy smile broadened and her eyes crinkled in silent laughter he resorted to just yanking his arms out of the sleeves. She nodded her approval as he turned away from her to drop the shirt onto the floor. She ran her eyes over his newly visible skin. His sleeveless undershirt exposed his strong arms and broad shoulders. She reached out to trace her finger along a scar that passed over his left clavicle. The silence felt heavy.

Turning away from him, she drew her hair to the side, exposing the top of the zipper on her dress. Daniel wondered if she could feel his hands shaking as he unzipped it down to her waist. She stood, drew the zipper down the rest of the way and shimmied out of the red dress. She draped it carefully over the same chair where Daniel's jacket had ended up and turned back toward Daniel. She stood in front of him.

In her knee length slip she was practically as covered up as she had been in the dress - but it was so very very different. Daniel drank in the sight of her and she didn't stop him. He let his gaze travel up and down the length of her and he could feel his desire continue to build. He couldn't get enough of her shoulders, the curve of her breast, and the way her narrow waist eased into her perfect hips. He reached out and placed his hands on her hips. The fabric was smooth and he could feel the heat of her skin underneath it. He drew her toward him until she was standing between his legs and he could drop his head and nuzzle the fabric covering her stomach. She sighed at the touch and reached down to pull off Daniel's undershirt.

She ran her hands over his shoulders and he again dropped his head to bring the cool fabric against his cheek. Her hands slid down his back and he could feel them moving over the scars on his back. Some of the deeper scars limited feeling, but that make the skin between them feel even more sensitive in comparison. He couldn't bear it any more. He needed to feel her against him again.

He leaned backwards onto the bed, pulling her down with him. She tumbled gently down on top of him as he supported her fall with strong arms. As their bodies pressed together he could feel of the cool silk of her negligee against the bare skin of his upper body and it suddenly pushed him over the edge.

Daniel had kept thinking that at some point Peggy would pull back - that at some point she would change her mind, gather up her things and leave. Not that she would leave forever, but thats she would leave this night. But she had convinced him that she was there to stay. He tried to roll up onto his side on one arm to kiss her but the prosthetic just kept getting in the way. He pulled back and pushed Peggy away from him slightly.

"Peggy, can you give me just a second? Just go look out the window for a minute, would you?"

Silently, Peggy nodded and withdrew to the other side of the room. Hastily and awkwardly Daniel removed his pants and unstrapped his false leg. He tossed them both onto the floor. The leg sat there, glinting at him, until he threw his now-wrinkled shirt on top of it.

In the dim light he couldn't make out the tell-tale marks of the brace - the handful of bruises that never really went away, the marks from where the stabilizing straps cut across his flesh - but he knew they were there.

It wasn't a bad prosthetic. There had been many advances in the last few years what with all the demand for false limbs. It was a hell of a lot better than the one with which he had originally relearned how to walk - but it was still uncomfortable. Often his limp wasn't from lack of balance - it was from the strange way he subconsciously altered his gait to relieve pressure from the brace.

He was glad that the dim light hid the details of his leg. The shape would be enough for tonight's reveal. He sat there in his undershorts for a moment before saying her name again.

"Peggy," was all he could manage.

She turned to him and slowly walked back to the bed, unabashedly looking him up and down. His breath caught in his chest as her gaze fell to his stump, sticking out from his shorts but coming to a stop several inches below his knee. She didn't shudder or turn away. She just looked at it for a few moments and then continued moving toward him.

Just before she reached his outstretched hands she turned to walk around the bed and looked at the scars scattered across his back. He sat there silently looking forward while she finished her inspection. He felt the bed sink down as she knelt behind him. Another rustle and suddenly she was dropping her slip to the ground in front of him. She placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned down to whisper into his ear.

"We all have scars, Daniel. Yours don't bother me." She lowered her lips to the sensitive flesh on his neck and nibbled.

Another heartbeat passed and Daniel couldn't restrain himself any longer. In one smooth move he turned toward her, rolled her onto her back, and covered her body with his own, supporting his weight on his good knee and an elbow.

Peggy laughed. "You're faster than I would have expected, Daniel."

He joined in her laughter, chasing all the stress and uncertainty out of the room once and for all.

"I'm surprisingly mobile without that thing, actually, apart from the whole 'walking' problem." He kissed her again. "I'm also quite a bit lighter."

They laughed together. There was no awkwardness any more. No embarrassment. Just a man and a woman in love and happy to be alive.

XXX

Daniel woke up to two things. A completely numb arm from Peggy sleeping on it all night, and the most lovely sight he'd ever seen in that apartment. That sight was Peggy scouring the apartment in an unzipped dress looking for what Daniel could only assume was her second shoe, since there was only one hanging from her finger.

He sat up against the headboard and stretched, yawning and trying to shake feeling back into his arm. His limbs felt like jelly.

"Problems, Pegs?"

"Ah-ha! No!" She darted under the chair and retrieved the errant shoe. "Found it."

She came over and sat on the bed next to Daniel. She was sitting in the space that would usually have been taken up by his leg, had it been where it was supposed to be. This bothered neither of them. She kissed him firmly on the lips - a goodbye kiss.

"You're off?" He asked. "Can I tempt you with breakfast somewhere?"

"In this outfit? That's hardly appropriate." She smiled. "You can take me to lunch." Another quick kiss. Daniel considered pulling her back down and refusing to let her leave but he restrained himself.

She stood up and continued to gather her things. With her jewelry in her purse and her hair loose the dress seemed slightly less inappropriate for the time of day. Still definitely not a breakfast dress, however.

"I don't know, Peggy. You'll fit right in with the other women skulking through the lobby at this hour in the morning. I think they're all wearing their evening dresses, as well."

"Well, Daniel, I certainly have no intention of 'skulking' anywhere. Not this morning, and not ever." He loved it when she got angry and extra English.

She glanced toward the window. "I shall simply use the fire escape."

Down a fire escape and up a coal chute - that was his girl. She was out the window - she had been serious, of course - in another five minutes and Daniel simply sat in his bed watching her go with a smile on his face and a light heart.

He was going to marry that woman some day. And he might have to act fast or she'd probably ask him before he could get around to asking her.


End file.
